Newtown Borough On Track To Hire Town Manager In May

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The borough council could vote to hire its first borough manager as early as its May meeting.

In an update on the search, Council President Emily Heinz reported that after two rounds of interviews, the executive search committee has narrowed the pool of candidates from 11 down to three.

“We’re still on track to hire at our May meeting depending upon how long it takes for background checks and other processes,” said Heinz. “It may be our June meeting.”

The committee includes Mayor John Burke, Council President Heinz, councilors Mary Ellen Reymond and Julia Woldorf.

"The successful applicant will be our first manager to serve under the council-manager form of government, which requires a significant amount of professional local government experience along with an ability to create the culture of the newly-adopted government structure," said Heinz.

The current round of recruitment began in late January with the executive recruitment committee holding a logistics meeting with the Meyner Center, a nonprofit center retained by the borough to assist with the search process.

In other business at its April meetings, the council voted to open the borough hall for the 2024 Newtown House Tour in early December. The building will be one of a handful of public buildings on the tour.

The council also gave its approval to the Council Rock Newtown Baseball Association to hold its annual Vintage Baseball game at Pickering Field on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27. The game is scheduled to begin at noon as the Newtown Strakes take on the Neshanock in a game played without gloves and using vintage rules.

Councilor Woldorf also announced that the borough's EAC will be partnering with the Newtown Theatre and the Newtown Township EAC to present an Earth Day celebration at the theatre on Tuesday, April 23.

The night will include a screening of “2040,” an Australian documentary that follows director Damon Gameau’s imaging of a future for his 4-year-old daughter, Velvet, where climate change has been solved.

Described as “an exercise in fact-based dreaming,” the film is structured as a letter to his daughter whereby Gameau travels around the world investigating numerous solutions that can contribute toward climate mitigation and imagining what a future would be like where they have been implemented at scale.

Following the film, members of the Newtown Township and Newtown Borough Environmental Advisory Councils will discuss and answer questions about ways people can live a more sustainable life.

Tickets are available at TheNewtownTheatre.com for $12 for adults, $10 for seniors/students, or $6 for members of the theatre or any of the partner organizations. Tickets will also be sold at
the door (if available). All seating is general admission.